Iowa
Working families in Iowa need accessible, affordable, quality child care and early learning opportunities for their children.
Currently, federal and state early learning programs reach thousands of young children and their families in Iowa. But too many working families in Iowa are missing out. As a direct result of child care issues, the Iowa economy loses millions of dollars each year in the form of lost earnings, productivity, and revenue.
There are 230K children ages 5 and under in Iowa – 74% of these children have all available parents in the workforce.
The typical annual cost of child care for an infant in Iowa is around $12,000.
The Child Care and Development Block Grant only reaches 14% of eligible families in Iowa. (This federal program helps low-income parents afford child care.)
On average, child care providers in Iowa earn just $25,880 a year; this can make it a challenge to recruit and retain this workforce, leading to supply issues.
Iowa’s economy loses $1.1B annually due to child care challenges
Iowa: In The Headlines
Letter: Head Start matters
The Gazette | October 2, 2025
So many children are on Early Head Start and Head Start waiting lists due to lack of funding. Our children can’t wait. They need the best program possible during birth through 5 years old when the brain is the most active.
Iowa faces 40,000 child care slot shortfall, state data shows
KCRG | sEPTEMBER 4, 2025
Iowa needs about 162,000 daycare slots to meet the need, according to state data. That’s nearly 40,000 more than the capacity of all of Iowa’s child care centers combined.
Spencer Child Care Study Reveals Economic Growth Challenges
Northwest Iowa Now | September 17, 2025
The survey of both employees and employers has come up with a deficit of 788 childcare slots.
Iowa Resources & News
Subscribe to FFYF First Look
Every morning, FFYF reports on the latest child care & early learning news from across the country. Subscribe and take 5 minutes to know what's happening in early childhood education.